Madawaska ? Joan Lizotte, owner of JJ Spa, located on 11th Avenue, recently presented the Edgar J. (Guy) Paradis Cancer Fund with a check for more than three hundred dollars. What makes this donation unique is the manner in which these dollars were collected.

Throughout the month of October, Lizotte put aside 50% of the proceeds from every manicure and pedicure she performed in her salon. She then presented the gift to Bea Daigle, RN, who accepted it on behalf of the Paradis Cancer Fund.

?This is just not something we?re use to seeing,? noted a smiling Daigle. ?That a businesses owner would dedicate half of her earnings on services for an entire month is truly amazing and very much appreciated.?

Of the project, Lizotte explains it was a labor of love, and her way of giving back to a fund that has helped her family for a number of years. ?The Paradis Cancer Fund has been there for us each time my parents have needed it,? she said.

?We often talked about doing something as a way of giving back so that others could benefit. This was my way of doing that, and believe me, if it wasn?t for the generosity of my customers, it wouldn?t have happened,? she concluded.

The Paradis Cancer Fund, a service of Northern Maine Medical Center, provides assistance to St. John Valley cancer patients, survivors, and their families when travel is required out of the region for treatment and therapy. The Fund also provides assistance in the form of an annual education program and support groups that meet on a monthly basis in Fort Kent and Van Buren.